Cultural Identity and Good Practices in Intercultural Education in Europe

Abstract

, then intercultural education includes pedagogy, curricula, and the communication between the migrants and the natives in school and in society. The integration of children in school is linked to the integration of parents in society. The intercultural education means therefore that managing diversity is not a problem in schools only, but concerns the whole of society, particularly with regard to policies implemented in social, family, and migration fields. In European societies, non-European migrants are integrated in two ways: through a universalist philosophy or a differentialist philosophy. The first means equity between migrants and natives based upon similarity and the second means equity based upon differences. Those traditions can be observed also in school practices. Nevertheless, these two traditions produce unexpected effects. The universalist philosophy does not recognize discrimination, and through the differentialist philosophy there is no communication between migrants, and between migrants and natives. The European Union (EU) proposes therefore "good practices" in intercultural education to avoid these unexpected effects. A comparative study concerning eight European countries will try to confirm this hypothesis (Italy, Sweden, and the United Kingdom). The results of the research focus on three major points: A single model of integration does not exist because each good practice is • related to the proper tradition of integration of each country. The status of the children's mother tongue in school is an indicator of integration • because the place of this language in school reflects its place in the host society. The intercultural education is not limited to pedagogy and curricula but inte-• grates the communication in school and society to purchase the objectives of social justice and inclusion. The success of an intercultural pedagogy depends on the status of the migrants' culture in the host society.